This Tuesday, October 13, a new edition of the SME Week 2026an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism that seeks to highlight the contribution of micro, small and medium-sized businesses to the economic development of the country.
Under the motto “With SMEs, Chile moves”the opening day was held at the La Moneda Palace and had the participation of the President José Antonio Kastthe bi-minister of Economy and Mining, Daniel Masunion representatives and entrepreneurs.
In the instance, the Executive announced that it will present two bills aimed at facilitating formalization, simplifying the tax system and addressing some of the main difficulties that smaller companies face in developing their activities.
According to figures from Internal Revenue Service (SII)in Chile there are 1 million 208 thousand 398 SMEsequivalent to 98.5% of the country’s companies and responsible for 47% of employment.
Two bills for SMEs
One of the main announcements of the day was the Government’s commitment to enter Congress, during the next 30 daystwo legislative initiatives aimed at improving the conditions for the growth of these businesses.
The first of the projects contemplates tax modifications with the purpose of moving towards a simpler and more accessible system, which facilitates the formalization and do not discourage business growth.
During the activity, the President José Antonio Kast He maintained that one of the challenges is to prevent entrepreneurs from perceiving the growth of their businesses as a factor that could harm them in taxes.
“We want SMEs to grow and that when they grow they are not punished by the tax increase. Hopefully they will become a large company that can sell their products not only in Chile and that we will be recognized internationally,” said the President.
The second initiative will be focused on resolving daily difficulties that affect the operation of smaller companies, particularly in matters of liquidity, access to financing and timely payment of bills.
Along these lines, the biminister Daniel Mas He maintained that improving the operating conditions of SMEs can have direct effects on the generation of employment and opportunities for families.
“We know that an SME that obtains financing, that receives timely payment of its invoices or that manages to obtain a permit, can hire one more person. And that hiring can change the life of a family,” he said.
Along with the legislative announcements, the Government reported that the SME Week will be accompanied by Formalizationan initiative that contemplates the delivery of 5,000 free advanced electronic signatures for entrepreneurswith the aim of facilitating procedures and supporting the formalization of their businesses.
More than 350 activities throughout Chile
The programming of the SME Week 2026 will run until Friday, October 16 and includes more than 350 activities distributed in the 16 regions of the countryincluding fairs, workshops, seminars, business meetings and training.
The agenda considers instances to strengthen the capacities of enterprises, promote innovation and bring tools closer management and digitalization to smaller companies.
Among the activities scheduled for this Tuesday is the official opening at the La Moneda Palace and the Rural Urban Marketin the Plaza de la Constitución. There will also be talks on artificial intelligence for SMEs in the Sercotec Business Centers in the country.
Over the next few days, the programming includes business networking meetings, training activities and spaces to promote collaboration. access to new markets.
To review the activities available in each region, the Ministry of Economy enabled the official SME Week platform, where you can consult the programming and its respective details.
Information is available on the website www.semanadelapyme.cl.
Source: radio.uchile.cl
